I couldn’t believe what I was seeing… has my heart played a trick on me? Have I gone into a dream? If so, please… don’t let me wake up from this. This is… what I need right now… what I long for.

Stunned with how he had seen it, he only continued to stay frozen from where he stood. He wasn’t able to understand why he was there, why now… why all of a sudden. Seung Ri smiled charmingly at him, “I can’t refrain myself to not see you… I’ve missed the moment I stepped on the plane. I just can’t neglect this anxiousness inside of me anyone” he felt his heart flutter at the words.

“Has God given me a blessing? Is this something that could cover up the mess that’s going on with my life lately?” he couldn’t believe it.

He definitely couldn’t believe it. When his deluded mind cleared up, reality fell onto him like the skies. “Jiyong…” Seung Ri’s voice changed, his eyes, his lips, his nose and even the smile. Ji’s heart dropped the moment the face changed into the person he least expected to be. “Jiyong… I heard, you couldn’t get to work today… so I came and wanted to know if you had a serious injury or sprain”

Seunghyun’s voice was rather repressed and his face was showing how much he was panicking, but Jiyong was unfazed. He felt like he was a brick wall in front of Hyun, like there’s no one talking to him, he just stood there looking at him without a word.

“I wanted to check on you… you didn’t seem all that fine when you said you were and~” Ji interjected, “I’m thankful that you… had the urge to do so but… you shouldn’t think exaggeratingly about me. I’m quite a persistent roach you know” he managed to bring out a faint smile.

Pain was written all over Jiyong’s face and the sight of the bandages on his arms were surely what he couldn’t consider fine. “Why… lie to me about something this obvious…” he figured, “It’s rather late, you should~” he stopped the moment he felt Seunghyun’s tight embrace.

It wasn’t something he’d thought Seunghyun would do but one thing he was thinking right at that moment was, “His… body… is so warm and his arms feels strong” he didn’t know how to react though, all the did was feel the warm and tight embrace around him. How his heart seemed to have paced along with the beating of Hyun’s own. How their chests would expand whenever they breathe in and how much his body temperature rose in an instant.

They stayed like that for what had seemed an hour, “Don’t tell me you’re fine and okay if you still have those bandages around you and also…” he pulled away and looked at each other. As Seunghyun’s eyes seemed to have an intent stare over him, Jiyong on the other hand seemed to be searching something at those eyes. Like he’s looking for words that meant something, that what he was saying right at that point were all significant and real.

After the whole stare off, Seunghyun delicately pulled Jiyong by the hem of his shirt. He didn’t want to accidentally cause pain if he were to grab onto Ji’s hands or arm, at some point, Jiyong found it nice that Hyun was considerate with doing so.

He brought Jiyong to the couch and looked at each other a tad bit before Hyun spoke out “Where’s the first aid kit? Your bandages look all worn down and some of it looks like it’s filled with blood already” unable to comprehend it quickly, Hyun resisted to titter at the way Jiyong was stunned.

“Hey, need to snap out of your daze if we were to clean up your bandages” he snapped Jiyong out of the hallucination he was having, well, Jiyong thought that it was still something to hallucinate about. “Um… yeah, that, well… it’s at the kitchen, lower shelf” he instructed.

Seunghyun smiled before leaving him be, “I don’t get this… even one bit… what’s happening to him all of a sudden? Has he clearly forgotten about the cat and dog fight we just had? This is too… unexpected” not a moment sooner, Seunghyun came back with the kit and some cleaning materials. “Hold out your arm and I’ll take the bandages off” he ordered and Ji complied without a fuss.

“Aish… you said you were fine and you have these nasty looking cuts and bruises? Really… you’re quite the guy to hide this from someone who’s asking you sincerely” he scolded after taking off the bandages and he first damped the cotton swab at the water and cleaned off the stain of blood, Ji hissed at the fresh wounds but he did his best not to exaggerate at the feeling.

“You know, you don’t have to hide your pain” Hyun suddenly spoke out, “What do you mean? I’m not hiding anything” he looked away but each time Hyun would run over the part that was still raw, he’d either twitch or hiss out. “I used to cry out like there’s no tomorrow when I was a kid, I didn’t stopped crying until I felt the pain vanish” he told with a smile in his face.

At the way he sounded, Ji couldn’t help but to feel nice at the tone of his voice was. “I always get some bruise or some cuts back then. I liked running around and doing crazy stunts when I was young, but since I was the only child of my dad, I always get the scolding and the lecturing whenever I done that” he giggled and Ji smiled but still didn’t look at him.

“The best part of being the sole son is that you get to enjoy having all the things you ask for, all the love and care is diverted to you. Even if my dad was busy he still fulfilled his role as a father towards me. He never ditches a promise or an event, he had set me as prior, that’s why I like doing crazy stuff” Ji couldn’t help but to not understand that.

“I think you lost me there, aren’t you supposed to be well behaved and not get into trouble?” he turned and looked at Hyun, as he was tying up the first arm with new bandages, “The other arm…” he informed, “I know it’s not something like it’s supposed to be, if your parents are like that, being kind and well behaved is the least that you could show… but I was different” he looked at the way Hyun’s eyes sparkled.

“The reason why I like doing those kind of stuff was because it was fun and it made my heart pound like crazy but the most important thing about getting injured at that time was, I get to see my parents show so much overflowing love that I wanted to get myself hurt to see it once more” Ji choked a giggle, “What’s so funny?” he didn’t found anything amusing.

“Well… ow!” he grunted at the hard press that was made in the cut, “Careful!” he warned, “Don’t mind it, explain…” he didn’t let the question die, “It’s just that when I think about it clearly, you act as if you’re a masochist…” Hyun’s eyes narrowed at him, “Is this what I get when I share a portion of my life?” he pressed another harsh one and Ji hissed but didn’t react loudly as earlier, “Let me finish…” he begged.

When the pain slowly subsided, “Even though you looked like a masochist, within that act I can tell you loved seeing your parents around and showing their affections towards you. Honestly, I too wanted to do that” he perked out a smile but Seunghyun couldn’t understand why he looked gloomy with that smile, “As I kid, I spent lots of time with my parents, I really loved them so much and being around them meant the world to me…”

“When I then turned 9 years old, things changed in an instance… I lost most of the affections they showed me when my sister came. At first I was resentful and jealous with having her around, always taking mom and dad’s attention and always have so much gifts and clothes… but when I started to grow up I felt my cold and frigid heart melt. I came to love her as she grew up with a smile on her face when facing me” Hyun looked at him, though he understands the fact that they shared the same feeling towards their parent’s love, he didn’t understood the feeling of having a sibling.

“Now, she means a lot to me. She’s someone I swore to look after but… after I finished college, I had to go my own way. That was hard for me, because, Dara was always the person I turn to when I feel bad inside or if I’m hurting, she acted as my haven when I needed to cry out in pain, I never consoled with our parents because I don’t want to trouble them, I always wanted them to see me looking unbreakable…”

“It’s amazing how things are with different lives. Me showing my pain and agony without second thoughts while you discreetly confine your pain and suffering to one person. I guess our act of expressing out pains differ but we both have something in common… we seek love from people around us to help ease the pain” Ji couldn’t believe the way his heart beats were going, it was like he’s going to have an heart attack or something.

He didn’t noticed that Hyun was already done with the other arm and when he only felt that Hyun had tidied up, he realised that. “Oh… um, thanks for doing this… I was hoping that Daesung was the one going to do this, I guess he wasn’t going to drop by” he looked shy at the way he was being treated.

“Don’t worry, I got it fixed” he smiled but inside he was smirking.

“Anyways… I’ll just drop by his place and~” Dae stomped at the counter once more, “Yah! Don’t you have any ears to hear what I’ve just said? I said leave Jiyong alone…! How could he feel better if the person responsible for the mischief were to be there?!” he nagged.

“Like you could possibly stop me from seeing him…” he dared to challenge him, “As a matter of fact, I can cut down your Achilles heels right here and tie you upside down just to stop you from going to the apartment” he threatened with a sadistic voice, though Hyun didn’t fret the words, he felt his spine shiver that moment.

“This guy’s a total lunatic… I got to think of a way to… hmm… this might actually, work…” he smiled and Dae didn’t falter with his deathly glare, “I should take heed with that… so I’ll be going then” he turned and walked a couple of steps. Dae thought he had triumphed but Hyun stopped from his tracks, “Oh, I nearly forgot” he turned back to Dae.

“I have a friend here who’s really eager to date someone, I couldn’t suggest anyone that I know since he’s very picky with people but looking at you and thinking about how the both of you would turn out, it’ll be quite a perfect match” he pulled out his phone and looked for the picture. “Yah! Choi Seunghyun, I’m not that gullible of a person to fall…” he stopped the moment the photo was brought up to his face.

“Oh…” he mused at the sight of the person, “He’s quite the guy actually, and he’s a great person… he works vigorously and very considerate with people. He likes people who always speaks out their mind and knows how to accompany him with stuff…” he was clearly seeing an impact, “Is that so…” Dae continued to marvel on it.

“Too bad… you don’t seem to be available since you need to look after Jiyong~” Dae smiled brightly at him “Well, seeing that your willing to know how Ji’s doing, I wouldn’t bother to interfere with what might help out between the both of you, so… how ‘bout pulling some strings to help your friend be accompanied this evening. I’m quite free later on tonight if you’re going to see Jiyong” victory was his.

“Maybe he was busy with something… you know that people has some agendas that comes unexpectedly” he chuckled, “Well, that is Dae’s attitude… he always goes along with what he like, well… I’m rather used to it though” he nodded.

“Anyways, it’s rather late Seunghyun… and thank you so much that you’ve fixed this up for me” he raised his hands to show what a good job he did. “Sorry for bothering you and all, have a pleasant evening” he stood up and was about to do his best to bid him off but, his stomach growled loudly.

In an instance Jiyong blushed beet red while Seunghyun smirked, “You haven’t ate yet haven’t you?” he brought out his phone, “I… I was about to when… you came” he fiddled with his fingers and looked down, “I’ll eat along with you then, would you like some spring pizza?” he suggested, “I don’t think that’s quite necessary…” he stomach made another sound.

He surrendered at that point, “Alright then… I’ll also add some fried chicken” he dialled the number for the delivery, “Looking at him right now… I wouldn’t think that he’d be violent when he’s pissed. He looked so nice and caring but still sometimes his eyes gives out those sharp glares you couldn’t help but to fill the chills” he observed.

“When you look at him at this angle, he’s quite a good looking guy, well build figure and his jawline is quite prominent. I must say that Daesung was right about him looking macho bravado. I’m lucky to have witness such kind side of him, I only wished it would go on like that” he continued to praise the way Seunghyun looked right at that moment.

“Hey…” Hyun broke him out of his thoughts, “You know, not eating properly would make you sick and would slow down your healing” he informed, “Oh… I’ll try to remember that next time”

“He’s looking at me for quite a while with those far off looks… is something catching his attention? I know that I look good but this is just freaky”

When the delivery came, they sat silently as they munch down on the mean Hyun had bought. As they do so, Jiyong noticed that Hyun was separating the olives that was in the pizza. “You don’t like olives?” Hyun shook his head, “I don’t like the taste…” he reasoned, “They don’t really give out lots of taste if you eat it along with the other ingredients”

He took the isolated olives and placed them all at his pizza, “There’s no point in wasting them, I’ll just take those you placed aside alright?” he adjured, Hyun fought back a giggle but still Ji noticed “Is there something weird or caught in my face?” Hyun quickly shook his head, “No… not that, it’s just that… it never crossed my mind that you’d eat something I took out with my hands”

Ji couldn’t cope the funny part in that, “I don’t get it” he frankly said, “Well… eating up something you just put aside was a bit of an unexpected thing for me but since I used my hands, didn’t you find it a bit icky?” he curiously asked.

That’s when Jiyong laughed for a moment, “You’re really quite the guy… why would I feel grossed out with something like that? Me and Dae always do that when we don’t eat something in our plates, well… for me, it shows that I’m quite comfy with the person I eat with…” he slowly realised what he was saying and looked down at the table and munched off.

Somehow, Seunghyun found it adorable to watch Jiyong feel shy about what he was saying. Momentarily, he forgot about questioning himself on why he was there in the first place, why he dragged himself into an extent of not feeling awkward nor pissed with Jiyong. It was like his anger faded and replaced with fondness and enthusiasm.

“Are you gonna finish that?” Ji then asked about the chicken, “Don’t even think about it” he pulled the plate of chicken nearer to him and Ji pouted and ate up his part. “Somehow… he looks cute like that… it makes me feel light inside to see him act childish” he giggled and Ji noticed but didn’t react, instead he turned away and smiled beamingly.

Once they were done eating, the chatted for a bit and just felt relaxed. They didn’t quite noticed the time, “Oh gosh… it’s very late” Ji saw it was 3 in the morning “You should get going… you still have a long drive to go” Hyun seemed disappointed  “I guess so” he sounded reluctant, “Y-You should be careful on your way back and~” Hyun dashed to the sofa.

“Hey! What are you doing?” he followed off, “I feel tired right now… can I rest for a little bit?” he laid down on the sofa, “You can have plenty of rest once you get to your place” he informed, “Is there a rule that I have to leave? I mean your sofa is comfy and all…” he reasoned and made himself really comfortable at the spot.

“Seunghyun… it’s not that I’m trying to get rid of you or anything… well maybe so…” he whispered at the last part, “Come on… just let me sleep here” he whined, “Do you think that the sofa is fine to sleep at for someone who’s tall as you are? Don’t blame me if you’d wake up with craps” he was about to leave him be but then Hyun got up, “That’s right… let me sleep at your bed tonight and you sleep here, like last time” he inquired and ran towards the bedroom but Ji followed closely.

“YAH! You’re not going to make me sleep at the couch this time… I nearly turned into a popsicle the day I slept there!” they were both pushing each other from the door, though they were trying to fend one another off, Hyun gave little force just to make sure that he wouldn’t strain Ji’s wounds. “Come on I’m the guest here. Cut me some slack”

“Not in a million years… besides, I’m the one injured here, couldn’t you show some courtesy for someone who’s in a state?” he reminded, “Although that’s the case, I wouldn’t hurt that much if you sleep at the couch, you can do it, you’re quite resilient to mostly anything right? You can manage”

Ji then stopped and gave Hyun a smug look then he sighed heavily “Aren’t you feeling too comfortable in doing this?” he shot out, Hyun mumbled inaudibly “Fine… have it your way” Ji thought he had won the quarrel but. “Hey… put me down”

He carried Jiyong bridal style and threw him at the bed, “What the hell…~” he froze at the very moment Hyun laid there with him with arms around him. He felt his temperature rising and his heart nearly bursting out, he didn’t know how to get out of this one. Nor he felt the slightest strength to even break away, it was like he had lost all of his power to move.

“I know this is very awkward to you… but right now, I have this feeling to wrap my arms around you and feel you close to me. I don’t really understand the reason why I’m acting like this but it feels right, it feels like my worries are evaporating…” Hyun didn’t take heed on what he was saying, his mind was turned off at that moment, and it only helped with his actions but no questions running around to bother him, to interfere with the event that was going on that time. No hindrance at all.

“If this goes on… my heart will blow up… damn it… why is it so hot all of a sudden?” his mind was at a panic but his body was nowhere near on complying. Hyun then pulled him closer and turned Jiyong to his side, so now he’s spooned towards Hyun. He could feel Seunghyun’s heart beating fast as his was and the warmth radiating from his body.

He couldn’t believe how much Seunghyun was affecting him like that but it became wilder when Hyun rested his chin on his head, “Kwon Jiyong… at first that name made me feel like I’m in deep … but right now, it made me feel so at ease and safe. I never figured that I’d be with a guy this close, to eat along and laugh, to be there to wonder if he’s fine and doing well. To be anxious on seeing him and go along with this crazy feeling stirring inside of me”

Jiyong was feeling those things as well, when he came back from the incident, his mind was having lots of questions about it, why he was suffering like that though the injuries didn’t felt a lot painful than the things going inside himself, why he was baffled with the reason he came to apologize and save him, why he’s here right now and comforting him, why he was making him laugh and smile, why he feels great on seeing him take good care of him, and why he adores the feeling of having Seunghyun at that moment with his arms around him and his heart close to his.

“Seunghyun…” he manage to whisper out, he felt a hum “What crossed your mind when you came after me that day?” he brought out the topic. “Why… you ask?” he nodded, “Frankly, I don’t know… it was like my whole body was in auto pilot when I came to realise you left me there in the car, that you stood there in the middle of the road while a car was about to hit you. My mind was working but my body… has its own movements”

“But there’s one thing I understood when I came to the shop earlier…” he trailed off, “What’s that?” he looked at Hyun’s hands that had locked him into place and slowly his heart evened but had a rush of anticipation “I had a strong need to see you… to know how you’re doing… to see for myself that you’re not seriously injured. Thought I know that I’m at fault with what occurred, it wasn’t all guilt” Ji smiled softly at the words.

“To be honest, my mind’s comparing whether it was concern or curiosity… I had no idea” he felt the need to know the conclusion of it “So what came to a verdict?” he awaited, “I still haven’t figured out yet…” somehow it was a disappointment for Jiyong, “But if you let me understand it more… maybe one day, I’ll be able to express what it really is. What it really meant” he felt hope arise with that.

“If you’re willing to do so… so be it, I’ll… try and help you out” he felt satisfied with something simple as that, and slowly Jiyong felt slumber taking its toll on him. As he drifted to sleep, he couldn’t refrain himself to think that Seunghyun could possibly be someone worth being with. He did make up for what had happened and the inner pain he’d caused, “Perhaps… things would be better now”

Right now… I don’t know what to think off… it feels weird but at the same time, it feels wonderful. My hearts in a ruckus and my body’s burning up… Jiyong… why do I feel so safe right now even if I’m the one who’s holding onto you? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Aren’t I supposed to be the one who provides assurance rather than feeling that assurance?

Seunghyun… I’m glad you’re here right now, I felt my aguish and sorrow got erased the moment you came. Though this might seemed like a dream, and if I were to wake up tomorrow morning without you here holding onto me, it’ll be fine. At least inside of me, I felt that my heavy feeling got lifted and I’ve experienced something worth cherishing. Thank you… so much for this.

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Sorry if it took a bit of time to finish up, I had a little moment of a writer's block but I've pressed on with the next Chapter and I'm finishing off. Once I'm done with the proof reading tomorrow I'll be posting it right away :D

Also, seeing such anticipation from every each and one of you guys was overwhelming, I can't express how much I'm thankful for your enthusiasm for this story I've made. I will always do my best to keep your hearts captivated in this story till the end, again... thank you all so much!